Known as "the Twin Cities of Maine," Lewiston-Auburn is the second largest community in the state and home to approximately 60,000 people. Once the textile capital of the Northeast, Lewiston-Auburn helped shaped child labor laws in the early 1900's. After several years of high unemployment, Lewiston-Auburn is rebounding economically, with its leading industries now in healthcare, high precision manufacturing, finance and education. Lewiston-Auburn has a rich Franco-American history yet has grown more culturally diverse in recent years due to Somali migration. It is also the site of the historic Clay-Liston boxing match, in which Cassius Clay delivered a knock-out punch that made the record books as the shortest boxing match in history.
Maine Employee Rights Group represents Lewiston-Auburn employees in all types of employment discrimination litigation. Examples of cases we have recently handled for Lewiston-Auburn employees include:
Race Discrimination and RetaliationOur firm partnered with the EEOC to represent Daniel Mayo, the sole African-American employee at Duke Energy's Northeast Propane Terminal, who was terminated after complaining about his supervisor's repeated use of racial slurs and profanity towards him. We filed suit in federal court, alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Maine Human Rights Act, and Maine Whistleblower Protection Act. At trial, the company accused Mr. Mayo of "playing the race card" in order to avoid termination for performance issues. The jury found that the company unlawfully retaliated against Mr. Mayo by terminating him for complaining about racial harassment and awarded back pay, compensatory damages, and attorneys' fees. The court also ordered the company to publish the verdict against it; conduct training on Title VII's prohibition of retaliation against employees who engage in protected activity; expunge all documents from Mr. Mayo's personnel file relating to his termination and replace them with a letter stating he was unlawfully retaliated against; and submit to monitoring by the EEOC for two years. Our firm then represented Mr. Mayo in a separate trial on the issue of punitive damages.
Whistleblower RetaliationWe represented three C.N. Brown drivers who were terminated after they refused to comply with a company directive to use their Social Security numbers to identify themselves over the radio. We filed suit in Androscoggin County Superior Court alleging violations of the Maine Whistleblower Protection Act, which prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who engage in protected activity such as refusing to comply with a directive to engage in activity that would be a violation of a law. C.N. Brown argued that our clients had voluntarily resigned and should not be awarded any damages. The jury found that our clients had been unlawfully terminated and awarded punitive damages and attorneys' fees.
Disability DiscriminationWe represented a municipal worker who was terminated after reporting his coworkers for harassment on the basis of his disability. Our client worked for the city for several years prior to having a motorcycle accident which resulted in a traumatic brain injury. Our client spent eight months in a rehabilitation facility relearning how to walk and talk. He returned to work only to be harassed by coworkers when he would occasionally stumble or slur. The harassment took the form of name-calling and insubordination. His supervisor refused to discipline the harassers and concluded, incorrectly, that he was unable to perform the essential functions of his job. Prior to terminating our client, the supervisor told him he was "not the same person" as before the accident. We filed suit in federal court, alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Maine Human Rights Act. Shortly after we filed suit, the employer requested mediation and the case was settled.
If you have been terminated because of your race, disability or whistleblower activity, call Maine Employee Rights Group today for a consultation, 207.874.0905.